Dordrecht isn't a place that makes it onto the itineraries of too many foreign visitors, but the descriptions of the city and its limited number of attractions made it quite interesting to me and it turned out to be a place I enjoyed very much for the half day I spent there. Dordrecht’s claim to fame is that it is the oldest city in Holland, which is not exactly the same thing as being the oldest city in The Netherlands. Holland is actually only one of the seven historical provinces that made up the united provinces of the Netherlands and became the modern country. Although the provinces of North and South Holland are the most populous and historically significant, those low-lying areas that had to be drained were actually settled somewhat later than the slightly elevated ground south and east toward the German and Belgian borders.

Dordrecht still seems like quite an old city because it’s one that neither experienced much industrial development before the Second World War nor much destruction during that war, despite its position on the Oude Maas River between Rotterdam and Arnhem . The densely packed houses Dordrecht’s canals and its multiple squares make it an attractive place consistent with expectations of what a small Dutch city should look like. Had WWII not occurred, much of Rotterdam’s harbor sections might look somewhat like Dordrecht looks today.

Saturday is market day in Dordrecht and I found there to be many cheese and fish specialties to taste. Some of the vendors were especially friendly to me when they found out I was American, and I even got a free cup of orange juice tossed in with some smoked salmon I bought.

Dordrecht’s main attraction is the Grote Kerk, a huge church that became Protestant like most of the rest of South Holland during the Reformation. Thus, the interior is rather plain compared with most Catholic churches, but that’s the case for other Protestant churches in the Netherlands as well. The tower isn’t quite as high as those in Delft or Utrecht, but the view from the top is great nonetheless. The Grote Kerk is also supposed to have the greatest carillon in all of Europe. Dordrecht’s art museum focuses entirely on Dutch art and concentrates on works of Dordrecht painters. I actually love seeing the best of regional art and found the museum to be especially interesting. Several of the local painters like Aelbert Cuyp became significant names in Dutch art. I could easily have spent a few more hours in Dordrecht but wanted to combine it with the windmills at Kinderdijk.